emphatic that what is reflect odd that recording is not consistent with nor does it reflect his views, beliefs, or feelings." nbc's ron allen is live at the news conference in midtown, manhattan. ron, what are we anticipating? is there any leak coming out of the nba as to what we're going to hear? >> no. short answer to that, not yet. i imagine this is going to be quite a moment for the nba as an institution because there's never been anything like this that this organization has confronted. one big problem is that it's a private organization, and we don't know the bilaws and the constitution, so we don't know what's possible. you know, there's been so much talk about suspending sterling indefinitely or for a long period of time, but essentially you would be severing an owner's relationship with his property, something that he owns, a basketball team, that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. how do you do that? how do you keep him out of the games? how do you keep him from not contacting the general manager? can you really do that? would the other owners go along with that because it sets the precedent that they could be

punished for something that sterling would argue happened in private. >> right. >> a lot of questions. how do you do that without hurting the team, which is in the middle of a championship run, they think, had he hoep hope. it's a great time for the nba, and there are stars on this team. blake griffin, chris paul. it's a really unusual situation that's unprecedented. >> nbc news has confirmed that donald sterling has been fined $5 million and has been suspended indefinitely. this is according a senior nba official. it looks as if they are going to take, as you were describing, a very stiff penalty against mr. sterling. >> well, the nba has never even suspended an owner for anything else. they fined them for yelling at the refs, things like that. >> this is really unprecedented when this happens. clearly they're saying to him we don't want you here, and the hope, i guess, is that he will in some way reach some kind of agreement to get rid of ownership of the team. now, how does that happen?

unclear. i think the nba certainly wants to deal with this now in a very sharp and aggressive way, get through the playoff season to mid-june or so and then deal with this more aggressively when the summertime comes and the league is essentially when -- after the season is over. you know, what a moment for the nba. what a moment for the country when this organization takes such a profound step to say to this man, you just can't do this. >> yeah. >> you know, there have been other times when racism has been in the forefront, but to hear it so blatantly, i think clearly that's what's driving this. i think just about anybody who heard those tapes would be offended by what was on them. >> yeah. indeed. the nba finally taking action. we do now, again, know that they have suspended donald sterling indefinitely, fining hem fined

$5 million. bloo i sneed to hear a lot more. one of the demands of the union, its representative kevin johnson, was that we also get some answers as to why donald sterling has been coddled for so lodge as the last 30 years for an nba owner and why no action was taken during previous instances when it was revealed when he acted in a profoundly racist manner as a slum lord m greater los angeles area, paying off the largest housing discrimination settlement in the history of the justice department. if adam silver is not willing to give some sort of accounting for why the nba has coddled this man for so long, then it does not meet the measure that the union is asking for, and it shouldn't frankly meet the measure that the public is asking for. think about the message here, joy. the message they're sending is, okay, you can treat ordinary working class people, black and brown people, like garbage, but, oh, no, how dare you offend magic johnson. that's where we draw the line. the nba needs a harsher stance on this. >> the thing is that $5 million in the scheme of things, when you are talking about somebody

who is worth considerably more than that, it's not the biggest fine that could have been done. it is in terms of the history of the league -- there have been previous suspended mba owners. glen taylor of the minnesota timberwolves for violating salary cap rules. had a single season suspension. the team was fined $approximate.5 million. they lost five number one draft picks. you jerry bus, the former l.a. lakers coach who was suspended in 2007 after he was convicted on a misdemeanor drunk driving charges. two games. $25,000 fine. are you saying you don't think this will sanitize things for the league. >> obviously, i need to look at what they're saying and i need to constituted where i this more, but just gut reaction it feels like they're looking for a way to get this off the front pages as soon as possible.

>> what i would like to see is actual steps taken by nba ownership and adam silver and my understanding is it's in the constitution that they can do this, not to just suspend him indefinitely, but actually arrest control of the team from the sterling family, and that last part is important because his wife rochelle who i assume would be the person in charge at this point, she's also named in a lot of these housing discrimination suits throughout the 1990s and 2000s. >> that is an issue, and ron allen did bring this up. we had him on a moment ago. this idea of whether or not the team can still be wrestled out of his control. michael mccann from "sports illustrated" wrote about this and said there is reportedly no language authorizing the nba to sell a team because of an owner's hurtful remarks or embarrassing behavior, even if language could authorize a forced sale of the clippers. nba owners would likely be reluctant to set the precedent of doing that to him. do you know of anything in the rules? i mean, they aren't secret. there's a secret constitution. that could force him to sell, or

do you think pressure will be brought to bear by other owners who even if he is suspended, still don't want this guy associated with the nba? >> yeah. i mean, it's so interesting because you can win playoff games or what not or lose playoff games, or that you are providing serious financial harm to the league, that these are legal stipulations that would allow them to actually arrest control of the team from you and put it on some sort of open market, but the obvious answer is the constitution is whatever the nba owners say it is. i mean, this isn't legal writ, this isn't doctrine, this isn't anything moses came down from mount sinai with. it's basically -- it's not really about adam silver. it's are the other owners angry enough and frankly organized

enough to say we don't want this guy in our club anymore. that would be a death blow for the ownership of donald sterling. >> indeed. stay right there. we're going to add jay williams, who is joining us on the phone. he is a retired nba player who has played for the chicago bulls as well as doouk university's blue devils. your aekz, sir, to the news that the nba will fine donald sterling $5 million and suspend him indefinitely. >> after knowing adam silver for a very long time, i think this is one of those steps in the process of a lot of steps in order to make his life extremely uncomfortable. i think it's the right move. i also -- you know, you hear people what's the ultimate goal here from the players' perspective? i think there's no room in nba for an owner that i think the players have a huge opportunity here to make a major statement. you talk about what's the best way to force the hand of a guy

like adam silver to ebbing pedestrian it the process. we talk about for the owners they need 22 out of the 30 owners to vote, to revoke his rights to own a team. i think the way the players could get that done is by boycotting the game. by boycotting the game, that puts pressure on the nba, adam silver, and the owner because then all of a sudden you start to lose money. it puts added pressure on not only the nba, but everybody to expedite and move this process forward. there is thinking that the civil rights act would protest because it's based on an underlying charge of racism. do you think the players need to not stand down here, not let this fine deter them from continuing to protest up to and

including refusing to play? >> absolutely. i would like to see them do that without question. i'm always a little bit red sent to say what i think other people should do to protest in terms of risking their livelihoods, but i will say this. it's not just about players. it's about fans as well. i don't know -- i don't think fans should be going to the game. nobody goes to games to look at donald sterling. for goodness sake, i don't think people would want to be paid to look at donald sterling. people go to a fwam to see the players. if the players walked off the court, the money stops, and that would be the kind of statement where absolutely jay williams is correct. 22 out of 30 owners would line up to be the first person to say let's arrest this team from his

control. >> yea, az former player, yourself, the pressure that the players are under is really unfair. let's just face it. they didn't do anything wrong. they are now in the center of all this, but, again, they are the people that the fans are coming to see. do you think it's an unfair burden to put on the players, or should they continue to stand up to this guy because suspended or not, he still owns the team. >> i think there are always unfair burdens that come along with the responsibility of being a public figure, and i think this is a huge opportunity for somebody like chris paul who is in charge of the players' union or as far as how the players saw it along with kevin johnson to make a statement like that. we didn't have to justify the

right move politically or financially, and i think for all these players with chris paul being the head of this great league, he has a chance to make an ultimate statement that would essentially force the hand of the nba to impose the right sanction on donald sterling, which is ultimately to remove him from ownership status of the los angeles clippers. >> i want to go back to ron allen, who is live outside where we will be watching for this press conference that adam silver will be holding. ron, what about that? i mean, there is still -- this does not have a feeling of finality. you now know what the penalty is going to be, but there is. >> in the beginning, not an end, or the middle perhaps. i think your guesses are right that the players are going to step up and try to do things to try and put pressure on sterling to step aside, to give up

control of his team. basically you see what the owners will do. you know, they're sort of a wild card in this situation, but the bottom line is that if this starts to hurt the nba financially, if there are boycott fz games, if there are other public reactions that are negative to this whole thing, demanding that sterling step aside, i'm sure the other owners will come together more quickly. would i think because of this you must step accede. you're suspended indefinitely, and they must give up ownership of the team. it's a fairly high bar, but i think there's been such universal condemnation of sterling, and he has this checkered past that even though these lawsuits were settled for millions of dollars and the elgin baylor lawsuit didn't find the -- the jury did not find for him, there are still all these other indications and as someone has said, the nba constitution is what the owners say it is.

there's really no precise legality here. this is all about the nba's future. its ability to continue to earn enormous amounts of revenue. its public image. based on all those things, yes, i think m coming months, again, the playoffs will go into june. once that's over, there will be more of a cry to try to remove this man many some way. that's unchartered territory. that's unprecedented have that happen to someone like sterling. >> i want to remind all of our viewers that nbc news has confirmed that donald sterling, owner of the l.a. clippers, has been suspended indefinitely. he has been fined $5 million. this according a senior nba official. i want to go back to you. finding a guy who is worth $1.9 billion, number 975 on forbes world's billionaires list, a team that is worth $575 million with $128 million in revenue. is that going to have a sense of finality or is this drumbeat going to continue until this man no longer owns a team m national

basketball association? >> it's not going to have finality for any of the players, nor for any fans who are thinking about this in any way that's conscience. we're talking about donald sterling. let's also remember this is somebody who paid $13 million for this franchise. $3 million down, $10 million on lay-away. he could probably get $700 million for it now easy without blinking. even if he is forced to sell, no one should weep for donald sterling. it's a drop in the bucket. just to get back to that boycott question, i just think we should remember that just last year the young men from grambling boycotted. there is courage out there in the recent past. >> actually, never mind. this is adam sell ver, and he is

taking the mike. >> shortly after the release of an odd wroe recording this past saturday morning of a conversation that allegedly included clippers owner donald sterling, the nba commenced an investigation which among other things included an interview of mr. sterling. that investigation is now complete. the central findings of the investigation are that the man whose voice is heard on the recording and on a second recording from the same conversation that was released on sunday is mr. sterling and that the hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of mr. sterling. the views expressed by mr. sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. that they came from an nba owner only heightens the damage and my

personal outrage. sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic league. i am personally distraught that the views of mr. sterling came from within an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations. ask caused current and former players, coaches, fans, and partners of the nba to question their very association with the league. to them and pioneers of the game like earl lloyd, chuck cooper,

sweetwater cliftton, the great bill russell and particularly magic johnson i apologize. accordingly, effective immediately i am banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clippers organization or the nba. mr. sterling may not attend any nba games or practices. he may not be present at any clippers facility, and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decision involving the team. he will also be barred from attending nba board of governors meetings or participating in any other league activity.

i am also fining mr. sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the nba constitution. these funds will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination intolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the nba and its players association. as for mr. sterling's ownership interest in the clippers, i will urge the board of governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team and will do everything in my power to insure that that happens. this has been a painful moment for all members of the nba family. i appreciate the support and understanding of our players during this process.

and i am grateful for doc rivers, union president chris paul, and mayor kevin johnson of sacramento who has been acting as the players' representative in this manner. we stand together in condemning mr. sterling's views. they simply have no place in the nba. thank you, and i'll take any questions. >> do you or any of year emissaries have any clue whether mr. sterling will abbing wee esto your to sell the team, or do you have a fight? >> i have no idea. >> next question right here, rachel.

>>. >> from polling the owners that you have spoken to, what right do you have to -- >> i didn't poll the owners. i spoke to several owners. i have their full support. >> on the right, brian. >> adam bryant from the associated press. what kind of authority do they have to force a sale? >> the owners have the authority subject to three-quarters vote of the ownerships groups of the partners to remove him as an owner. >> hi, i'm lisa ger era with "inside edition." the word you used specifically was outrage. you said that you were personally outraged. yet, many people believe that they are outraged that for years people have known that this man is a racist, slum lord, and the nba hasn't done anything until today. can you please answer why? >> i can't speak to past actions

other than to say that when specific evidence was brought to the nba, we acted. >> over here. second row on the left. >> joe with fox news, the kelly file. should someone lose their team for remarks shared in private? is this a slippery slope? >> whether or not these remarks were initially shared in private, they are now public, and they represent his views. >> fifth row in the middle. tim. let's get a microphone there please. >> tim, new york post. adam, what was the process to come into this decision over the last couple of days, and when did you decide that this was the appropriate action to take? >> i ultimately decided this morning that this was the appropriate action and the process beginning saturday morning when this first tape -- when this tape was first

released was to a point an investigator. it was david anneders from the watell lipton firm. he conducted a series of interviews. some by phone, some in person. he concluded his investigation late last night. >> seventh row on the left. jeff. let's give the microphone to jeff please. >> no. jeff, right there. seventh row on left. >> jeff. jeff, usa today. adam, you said you would encourage owners to force the sale of the clippers. when will that action take place? is. >> the process will begin immediately. we will most likely include a standing committee of the nba or the equivalent of our executive committee, our advisoriry finance committee. i've had plenty of discussion with glen tailor, who is our chairman of the board and the leader of the advisory finance committee, and we will begin that process immediately. >> third row on the end. howard. >> howard beck, reporter. adam, in your conversation with

sterling, did he own up to this immediately? was it only after you guys had to come up with some sort of proof? what, if anything, has he expressed approaching remorse, regret, anything? what's his sentiment at this point? >> mr. sterling acknowledged it was his voice on the tape, and he has not expressed to me directly any other views. >> okay. we'll go right here, please. >> andrew rosario, rise tv. what message do you have nor the clippers and their fans and their fan base in terms of moving forward from this point on? >> my message to the clippers fans is this league is far bigger than any one owner, any one coach, any one player. this institution has been around for a long time, and it will stand for a long time. i have complete confidence in doc rivers, in the basketball management of that club, and the players deserve their support. they've just been through an incredibly difficult incident in

their lives. >> on your left. harvey. over against the wall, adam. >> harvey. >> was the punishment designed, in effect, to get the message across to mr. sterling that there's no point, no advantages, nothing to be gained from him continuing his ownership, and, also, in determining what the punishment will be, including the suggestion to the board of governors, did you take into account mr. sterling's past behavior, or was it just based on this one particular incident? >> in meeting out this punishment we did not take into account his past behavior. when the board ultimately considers his overall fitness to be an owner m nba, they will take into account a lifetime of behavior. >> ken in the middle. >> ken burger from cbs sports.com. adam, could you just explain or lay out for us what specific

power in the constitution and bilaws you exercised with your ban, and what specific -- was it a broad violation, or a specific violation, and with respect to the forced sale, what specific section of the constitution covers that, and is that a broad violation or a specific one? >> ken, i'll let the lawyers lay out for you the specific provisions of our constitution. let's just leave it. we have the authority to act as i've recommended. >> eighth row in the back please where wroosh. >> stephanie step from harlem community radio. is the nba considering more african-american ownership at this point? >> sorry. where am i looking? >> eighth row in the back in the middle. >> i'm sorry. sorry. could you repeat the question? >> sure. stephanie from harlem community radio. is the nba considering more african-american ownership at this point? >> we're always open to ownership from people of all races, nationalities, ethnicities. as you know, we have an african-american frimary owner in the league right now.

shaquille o'neil just became a small owner of the sacramento kings. david robinson is an owner of the san antonio spurs. ravek, a person of color, born in mumbai, india, just became the primary owner of the sacramento kings. i believe wech a very diverse league, but i would always like to see it become even more dwoers. >> what about magic johnson? is that an option at this point? >> magic johnson knows he is always welcome as an owner in this league. he has been a part owner m past of the los angeles lakers, and he is always welcome and a close friend of the nba family. >> thank you. >> on your left, adam. >> maggie gray from si.com. did you talk to any of the players before you came to this decision, and what about clippers players, if they do not want to play for a team owned by donald sterling anymore? do they have any recourse? >> i talked to several players before renderring my decision. coincidentally i had a trip planned for this weekend. i was in memphis for a game. i was in oakland and then i was in portland sunday night for

games. i had a chance to talk directly to chris paul. i spoke to other members of the team. i spoke extensively to doc rivers. az said, kevin johnson has been representing the players' interests, and he and i have been talking multiple times a day. i believe the players will be satisfied with the decision and the renderings that we've made today. if a player m future doesn't want to play for the los angeles clippers and he is under contract, we'll deal with that. when it happens. that's not my sense of where we are right now. >> back on the left. by the cameras. >> celty knight for the insider. will this situation cause you moving forward to put new rules in place for owners from the nba? >> i'm not sure. i mean, we're always willing to take a fresh look at our rules, our constitution and bilaws, but i believe we have appropriate rules in place right now to cover a situation like this. >> second row on the left, ann. >> adam, espn morning.

just to be clear, you said when specific evidence was brought to the league, you did act. in past cases, has donald sterling ever been fined or suspended for racial or offensive remarks, and if not, why not? >> he has never been suspended or fined by the league because while there have been well documented rumors and cases filed, he was sued and the plaintiff lost the lawsuit. that was elgin baylor. there was a case brought by the department of justice in which ultimately donald sterling sellingsed, and there was no finding of guilt, and those are the only cases that have been brought to our attention, and when those -- when those two litigations were brought, they were followed closely by the league office. >> just to follow to that, one of the greatest players of all time, elgin baylor accused donald sterling of running a plantation-style franchise. did that not concern you, and why was that not investigated despite the fact that he lost the case? he has a prominent standing in

the league, and he said some very serious things. >> it concerned us greatly. we followed the litigation tloefl, and ultimately elgin baylor did not prevail in that litigation. >> second row right on the right side here. >> commissioner silver, brandon robinson, the source magazine. obviously car max and state farm withdrew their sponsorship with the l.a. clippers. as you the commissioner of the nba, what would you tell other people who maybe are on the fence or feel that have withdrawn and future invest in one of your franchises of the l.a. clippers? >> i would say that those marketing parnz of the clippers and partners of the entire nba should judge us by our response to this incident, and i think we've responded appropriately, and i would be hopeful that they would return into their business relationships with the clippers. >> on the left on the front against the wall over there. >> great. >> left. >> thank you. jason carole with cnn. i'm wondering if you have spoken to mr. sterling about this ban or any of his representatives and if so, what has mr. sterling's reaction been to

the punishment? >> i did not speak directly to his representatives about this ban. they were manufactured shortly before this press conference. i did not hear precisely what their reaction was. >> okay. robert silverman from the daily beast. have there been any decisions about whether the immediate members of mr. sterling's family, including rochelle and his -- will be allowed to remain in an ownership or managerial position m league as well? >> no. there have been no decision about other members of the sterling family, and i should say that this ruling applies specifically to donald sterling and donald sterling's conduct only. >> what has been the financial impact on this franchise and on the league from this scandal?

>> mike, i don't know. this has all happened in three days, and so i'm hopeful that there will be no long-term damage to the league and to the clippers organization, but as i said wrerl, i'm outraged, so i certainly understand other people's outrage, and they'll take some time. this will take some time and appropriate healing will be necessary. i can understand precisely why, you know, whether they be people, you know, who have affiliated with the nba or the clippers for a long time, or those corporate partners, i can understand how upset they are, and i'll do my best to bring them back into the nba family. >> adam. >> in the middle. sixth row. >> i'm sean gregory from "time." if the owners vote, three-fourth vote, not to force the sale, can you still under your powers institute the lifetime ban? >> the lifetime ban has been instituted. that is independent of forcing a sale of the team. >> okay.

in the middle. mike vicaro, please. >> mike, new york post. adam, can you share with us what your initial reaction was when you first heard the voice on the tape and what he was espowsing? >> when i first heard it, i was shocked. i was hoping somehow that it was fraud fraudulent or that it had been doctored, that possibly it was not indeed donald sterling. i've known donald for over 20 years, so i suspected it was his voice, and we set about immediately investigating. that was my reaction to sort of bare down and say let's get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. >> sixth row on the right at the end. >> commissioner aaron from abc. mayor johnson has indicated he would like the league to undertake a full accounting of donald sterling's past and the failures by the nba to act until now. is that an account you would be willing to undertake and would you make any effort to meet out the personal views of other mba

owners at this point? >> i have had, as i said earlier, multiple conversations with kevin johnson. i'm hoping that the actions we take today will satisfy our players. i believe they should. >> fifth row on the right. right in front. >> commissioner john weinstein from new york one. can you just tell us, you said you've known donald sterling for 20 years. what are your interactions of those 20 years been like for him? have you ever seen anything like this? have you ever felt anything like this? what kind of man did you adjudge him to be prior to this? >> i have not been that close to him over the years, but there's nothing i have ever seen in his behavior that would evidence these kinds of views. i have certainly, again, because there have been a lot of public filings about his activities, i have been aware of those abbing separations, but there's nothing i have ever seen firsthand that would indicate that he held the views that were expressed on these audio recordings. >> back in the middle, please. raise your hand so you can see.

thank you. >> commissioner hourpd. sports on earth. i'm curious just you spoke about your personal response to this. in terms of donald sterling self-identifying as jewish and you are doing the same as well, i'm wondering whether there was a specific kind of pain associated with that for you, and if you felt a certain responsibility within the jewish community to be responding to this in this way? >> i think my response was as a human being. i use the word distraught before. i spoke on saturday morning directly to chris paul, to doc rivers, and it wasn't even anger at that point. i mean, there was a certain somberness, and, frankly, i felt sort of most strongly and personally for that team. well, this affects every player and nen associated with the nba family that for those players and those coaches torg out and do what they need to do and play at the highest level in the

world and have them hanging over this, i think caused me to have a certain sadness i would say about the entire situation. i think this is regardless of anyone's religion, ethnicity, nationality. i think this is incredibly hurtful. >> i'm going to take two more back by the cameras. >> mr. silver. joe, picture 11 news. at any time during your conversation with mr. sterling, did he express any remorse or denial regarding these comments? >> mr. sterling has not expressed those views directly to me. >> i'm fwog take two more. andrew right here for one. >> commissioner, andrew rosario rice. is this suggested that the sacramento players, the clipper players, be granted free agency at the end of this year as a result of this issue. is that something that could be considered? >> that is not something we are considering. >> final question in the back on the middle. >> jason paige, if you don't get the three-quarter vote that you

need, is it possible that donald sterling could still be an absentee owner profiting from the team even though he is banned physically from doing anything with it? >> i fully expect to get the support i need from the other nba owners to remove him. >> thank you, aemtd. transcripts will be available later this afternoon. we will e-mail them out. if you have not given us your e-mail address, please do that with our people. >> all right. that was nba commissioner adam silver announcing that donald sterling, the owner of the los angeles clippers, has been banned for life by the nba. silver saying that donald sterling acknowledged that it is his voice on those tapes first heard on tmz in which he makes incredibly racist remarks to his girlfriend. he said the views were deeply offensive and hurtful. they are sentiments that were contrarying to the principles of the nba. he said he talked to several players, but no owners before making the decision to fine dr. sterling $2.5 million, which is the maximum. nbc news learning that the nba wanted to have a bigger fine,

wanted to do a $5 million fine, but $2.5 million was the maximum. a three-quarters vote is required for owners to remove donald sterling from ownership of the team. adam silver, the commissioner of the nba saying he will encourage and do everything in his power to encourage the owners to do that, to take that vote, and to remove adam -- to remove donald sterling from ownership of the team. i want to go around the horn and get the reaction from each of our guests. let's start with jay williams, former nba player for the bulls, and i want to remind everyone that minutes from now we do expect reaction from nba players and the mayors of both los angeles and sacramento. we will take that live, and i want to remind you who we also have with you. dave sdmri ron, ron allen, and on the phone jay williams, former nba player. starting with you, what is your reaction? >> it's the active commissioner of the nba to automatically

compare issues of the past the nb sdpa david sterling. i think the lifetime ban, i think the $2.5 million, you know, issue that they have was well done, and i think this is a series of actions. this is something that is going to have to occur over time. you couldn't get 22 out of 30 votes in order to ban donald sterling from ownership of the nba, they'll be able to go on to live a very well-life, but at least the precedent will be set that the nba will not allow racist remarks or racism at all. >> ron allen, i want to go to you. the nba saying that the 30 owners of fba teams were not consulted before this decision according to the rules they don't have to be. a suspension that did not need the owner's approval to make this decision.

interesting, ron. >> he is the longest tenured owner. i was struck by adam silver's -- the personal tone that he took in this. he seemed to be really deeply personally offended by what had happened. he talked to chris paul and ken johnson and some of the owners. i would love to see the owner who would stand up and say that he will not support taking the

team in some way from donald sterling. i would love to see who that person is because given the human cry about this, that person, i can't imagine who that would possibly be. >> i would expect that partial owners, shaquille o'neil, michael jordan, would step up and be vocal about the meegs that would come with the owners. i would ask adam silver, what have you learned over the last 20 years or so when all these other allegations came forward? part of it has to be that with a lack of minority ownership involved, these things can happen. >> we're seeing the local mayor actually coming to the podium to make statements in reaction to the nba commissioner. >> good morning, everybody.

>> thank you all for coming here today. especially, kevin johnson. my pier as a mayor remembering certainly not my pier as a basketball player, but a great man and leader for our players. i want to make clear that what we just heard today isn't just about basketball. >> it stands for tolerance, diversity, it stands for civil rights, break-throughs, and most of all it stands for basketball excellence. we may be a two-team town, but today we're behind one team, and the players of the los angeles clippers who tonight we want to know that we love you, we are behind you, and that today we feel like justice has begun to be served.

today we say we will not tolerate this from anybody, from any company, least of all one that bears this great city's name. i want to thank commissioner silver for bringing down the hammer, for being as strong as he could be, for saying that none of us as americans and certainly not as ang leanos will stand for the sort of racism that we heard articulated. this city is open for business, it is are aed for greatness, and that is reflected behind me. i'll say a few more words in a moment, but i want to toss this over to my partner who has been a grade graeted viesor, i know, to the commissioner, to fellow players, and certainly to me as mayor. he is the mayor of sacramento, and a basketball legend. please welcome mayor kevin johnson.

>> this is bigger than basketball. there are a number of people behind me. i want to thank all the current players that are behind me. i want to thank all the former players that are behind me, and certainly the future players. we are trying to set an example for them. we have civic leadership and civil rights organizations. we have business and labor. everybody united today. in terms of where we are, this is a defining moment in our history. tommy smith, john carlos at the 1968 olympics. great leaders like mohammed ali, jim brown, arthur ashe, jason collins, and our very own jackie

robinson. i believe that today stands as one of those great moments. where sports transsends, where sports provides fundamental change on how our country should think and act. this is also a statement about where we are as a country. it doesn't matter if you are a professional basketball player worth millions of dollars. let me say how proud of i am of the players of this league for standing up for themselves. the biggest stars to the everyday players. they were not afraid to art clat their rout rage.

they came out strong. they came out powerful. they did it in a very, very professional way. they said we want you to go to commissioner silver and tell them three things that we want. we need immediate action. number two, we need our collective voice to be heard. we want a seat at the table, and we do not want to be passive participants. thirdly, we want maximum allowable personment under the bilaws and the constitution and what that equates to for us as players, there must be a change in ownership.

the players spoke, they acted, and were listened to. the players organization is an organization that doesn't just represent one player. it represents over 450 players in the nba. it represents the golden state warriors. it represents the l.a. clippers. it represents the l.a. lakers. it represents 30 teams around this league, and this league of players are standing together in one voice. the nba constitution states this. the commissioner shall be charged with protecting the integrity of the game and preserving public confidence to our fans. today the players believe the commissioner has done his duty. on this day adam silver is not only the owner's commissioner he is also the players

commissioner, and we are proud to call him our commissioner. i want to also say this is a very stark reminder that we still have a rot of work to do. yes, we have an african-american president. yes, justice happened in a swift manner and forceful, yes, that occurred today. but these events remind all of us that hatred and bigotry are far from over. i hope that every bigot in this country sees what happened to mr. sterling and recognizes that if he can fall, so can you. at this point in time i want to say on behalf of the players we are so proud of our mayor of this great city of los angeles, the other mayors who came out today, and you are going to hear

from three or four players that represent current players, are former players, and then we'll open it up to some questions after mayor gars ety closes us out. at this time i would like to invite up the first vice president of the players association roger mason. >> fraum, i would like to thank mayor garcetti. >> okay. you were watching the mayor of los angeles gill garcetti and the mayor of sacramento, former nba great kevin johnson, speaking about it and giving their reactions to the suspension for life, the banning for life of the owner of the clippers. let's listen back to the coverage. >> it was not just about us players to be clear. this wasn't just about black or

white. this really was about right and wrong. this has offended people across the board, and we will not be discriminated against. yesterday we had a call that mr. johnson had for us as players with executive committee members, player reps, and players across the league. mayor johnson asked us what our views on the situation were. as you heard, we gave them three points. additionally i reached out to other players around the league, and made it clear that the players were ready to boycott the games if this type of action was not something that adam silver felt was necessary. i'm happy to come here today and say that as players we're very happy with the decision but were not content yet. we want immediate action. we want a timetable. we feel confident that with adam

silver's urge and obviously we heard from a lot of the owners around the league, we think this is something that can be handled quickly. finally, i just want to thank all the players who have not only been professional, but have been just tremendous with their support and i want to thank everybody behind me, all the former players, current players, and everybody that's banded together for this really historic event. thank you. >>. >> so i want you guys to know that last night until 12:00, 1:00 in the morning, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning all these players here, they were all communicating. they cared about what was going to take place. i talked to a former teammate of mine, steve nash, late last night. we went back and forth. he rearranged his schedule. at this point in time i like steve nash to come and represent

current players. >> thank you, mayor. well, this is an astonishing situation, obviously. after initial outrage, disappointment, sadness, i think today is a very proud home not only for the players association. current and former players, the nba, and as a father of three and a member of this community, i want to thank both mayors, the players association, and adam silver for quick, unequivocal and concise decision made today on behalf of everybody involved in this situation. it's -- it begs a bigger we. you know, if racism is a learned behavior, how long will it go on for? how long will people be taught to be bigoted, to discriminate,

and to instill hatred in our communities? let's hope this is an opportunity for all of us as players, former players, as a league, as a community to help educate and help take one step further to eradicating racism in our communities. again, this is a really proud day for all of us players, for our league, and i want to thank everybody for all their hard work to find this quick resolution, and hopefully we can see out adam silver's decision today and make this a thing of the past as quickly as possible. thank you. >> at this point i want to thank tyson for coming as well and luke. i'm just so proud of this fraternity called the nba, and we have said time and time again

we are one family. it's want just a league of owners or league of players. we're one family. when one rotten apple does something or if you see cancer, you got to cut it out really quickly. commissioner silver did that in real-time, and, again, we're just so proud and thankful for him. this time i'ming going to do something different. i want to bring up the captain. the one and only. y'all can go ahead and clap even though -- i'm going to bring up kareem abdul-jabbar. when you think about what magic johnson means to this league, there was one man that influenced him early in his career. it was kareem abdul-jabbar. you know he is quiet, reads a lot, tries to mind his own business, but what took place three days ago got the big

fellow up, and he got on the road the last couple of days. he has been up half the night articulating his views, so i would like karim to come up and all the former lakers to stand beside him. >> thank you, mayor kevin. i don't know if i'm going to ever get used to that, but thank you so much. >> i just want to say if i start stuttering, it's because i haven't gotten much sleep in the past couple of days. this really bothered me. i'm just thrilled with what commissioner silver did. he got on the case immediately and got to the bottom of whatever mysteries that there were involved in this, and figured out what the truth was and his actions and focus were so on the mark, it was unbelievable. you should have heard us in there when we were listening to the press conference. we all started clapping because

he handled it the right way. i'm so happy that he did that, and it's going to be a new day here in this city, and a whole lot of clipper fans are going to have a lot more to smile about, and that's what this is all about. again, i'm thrilled that with the outcome. i think most of the players i've spoken to just since the press conference feel the same way, and we're looking forward to some very positive changes that will make this city an even more wonderful place than it already is. thank you. >> at this time i'm going to bring up mayor garcetti back, and there's a lot of councilmembers, so i'm going to have you guys come and hang around since you guys are probably rooting for the clippers right now. i'm going to have you guys -- i'm going to give the clipper fans an opportunity to have full force.

mayor and all the councilmembers. >> thank you. if i can ask the councilmembers to come along here. i want to thank councilmember herb wesson and council president for his leadership. i know councilmembers -- had spoken out and introduced motions that i think might have influenced the commissioner. councilmembers cook orrian, ferrell, sedio -- our city attorney who is here. all of the city family. this really is one city. when you get this many lakers to stand up for the clippers, you know something big is happening in l.a. . we are a single team here today. a team not only speaking out what we are against, racism, hatred, bigotry, intolerance, but what we're for. we're for great basketball. we're for folks to tonight we hope are going to have the wind behind their sails to be able to go forward and to win a game tonight and think about nothing else but what they've worked their entire life for to be there tonight in the staples center on behalf of a city, a grateful and loving city that wants to see them do their best

and win. all i have left to say, go clippers, and thank you, commissioner silver. can i say a couple of words on that? >> that was eric garcetti, son of gill. kevin johnson, mayor of sacramento. roger mason jr., i thought most interesting, dave zyron, because while everyone was giving -- including steve nash, karim abdul-jabb abdul-jabbar, he said they want a timetable for removing the owner of the clippers from the team. >> yeah. i thought ken johnson was horrible just now. saying aimed silver is everyone's commissioner. then it took roger mason to step up and say, no, wait a minute. we still have demands. we still want a timetable. we still want to know what is what. adam silver's press conference, yes, he brought down the hammer, but there's still a lot of unanswered questions about that timetable, about whether the sterling family can retain control of the team even if donald sterling is not the figure head. these questions remain, and it's the -- the union has a job to be the fire on the behind of adam

silver to make sure it happens. not to pat him on the back and sing "we are family." i think that there's a lot more work to be done here. joy, i want to tell you, i just tweeted out, people can read it, kevin, if we're serious about talking about fair housing, kevin johnson has some skeletons in his own closet about fair housing in sacramento that people should know about if we're serious about that being part of this story. >> the thing is you did have adam silver say this he knew and heard about this guy's attitudes. nothing was done before. you keep in mind, he was not the commissioner the whole time. david stern was before. yeah, you do still have this openended issue of whether or not this guy is going to be forced out of ownership, and not looking at the past, doesn't seem so wise. >> it feels like george w. bush 2009 all over again. we're just not going to look at the past and just move forward. i'm sorry. adam silver, that was one of the demands that kevin johnson made the other day. we want an accounting for the last 30 years. today he is at the podium. kevin johnson doesn't say a darn thing. i'm pretty steamed about it, to tell you the truth because i thought that was the central demand that johnson had put

forward, and to not see him mention it now is dishearterning. dave, i still maintain best sports columnist ever. the one person we really needed talk to today. watch roger mason jr. he is the guy who is demanding action. that wraps things up for "the reid report." see you back here tomorrow 2:00 p.m. eastern. the cycle comes up next. breaking right now. tornado alley lighting up once again this afternoon. 75 million americans, a quarter of the population in the path of a dangerous line of severe spring weather. best team in the business from nbc and the weather channel is all over it for us. >> and president obama flying through that system as he tries to weather a political storm at home and abroad. first, the storm of controversy surrounding those racist comments by clippers owner donald sterling. the nba moments ago today him game over.

>> the man whose voice is heard on the record and on a second recording from the same conversation that was released on sunday is mr. sterling. i am banning mr. sterling for life with any association of the clippers organization or the nba. mr. sterling may not attend any nba games or practices. he may not be president at any clippers facility, and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. he will also be barred from attending nba board of governors meetings or